Dudley Digges (actor)
Encyclopedia
Dudley Digges was an Irish
stage
and film
actor.
Digges was born in Dublin. He went to America with a group of Irish players in 1904, and became successful both as an actor and producer. For a time, he was stage manager to Charles Frohman
and George Arliss
. Digges went to Hollywood in 1930.
One of Digges's best-known stage roles was as Ficsur in the original 1921 Broadway production of Ferenc Molnár
's Liliom
(later adapted into the musical Carousel
by Rodgers and Hammerstein
.) In 1924, Digges founded the Maverick Theater
in Woodstock, New York
, with the assistance of Hervey White, the founder of the Maverick Arts Colony. Digges was artistic director of a company that included Helen Hayes
and Edward G. Robinson
.
Digges appeared in forty films between 1929 and 1946, including the original, pre-code
version of The Maltese Falcon
(1931). Digges portrayed Caspar Gutman, the character later made famous by Sydney Greenstreet
in the 1941 version
. He played the role of the Heavenly Examiner in both the original Broadway production and the 1930 screen versions of Sutton Vane
's play, Outward Bound
. He also worked as a director on Broadway
.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
stage
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actor.
Digges was born in Dublin. He went to America with a group of Irish players in 1904, and became successful both as an actor and producer. For a time, he was stage manager to Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman
Charles Frohman was an American theatrical producer. Frohman was producing plays by 1889 and acquired his first Broadway theatre by 1892. He discovered and promoted many stars of the American theatre....
and George Arliss
George Arliss
George Arliss was an English actor, author and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award.-Life and career:...
. Digges went to Hollywood in 1930.
One of Digges's best-known stage roles was as Ficsur in the original 1921 Broadway production of Ferenc Molnár
Ferenc Molnár
LanguageFerenc Molnár was a Hungarian dramatist and novelist. His Americanized name was Franz Molnar...
's Liliom
Liliom
Liliom is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár. It was very famous in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.- Plot :...
(later adapted into the musical Carousel
Carousel (musical)
Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...
by Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
.) In 1924, Digges founded the Maverick Theater
Maverick Theater
The Maverick Theater is a storefront theater in the city of Fullerton, California, in Orange County. The theater was founded in 2002 by Artistic Director Brian Newell. Needing a venue to run his Elvis Presley musical The King, Newell rented a space at The Block at Orange, formerly occupied by Mars...
in Woodstock, New York
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 at the 2000 census.The Town of Woodstock is in the northern part of the county...
, with the assistance of Hervey White, the founder of the Maverick Arts Colony. Digges was artistic director of a company that included Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes Brown was an American actress whose career spanned almost 70 years. She eventually garnered the nickname "First Lady of the American Theatre" and was one of twelve people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award...
and Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
.
Digges appeared in forty films between 1929 and 1946, including the original, pre-code
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become rigorously...
version of The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon (1931 film)
The Maltese Falcon is a 1931 American Warner Bros. Pre-Code crime film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The movie was directed by Roy Del Ruth and stars Bebe Daniels in the role of Ruth Wonderly and Ricardo Cortez as private detective Sam Spade.Maude Fulton, Brown Holmes,...
(1931). Digges portrayed Caspar Gutman, the character later made famous by Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Hughes Greenstreet was an English actor. He is best known for his Warner Bros. films with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, which include The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca .-Biography:...
in the 1941 version
The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)
The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 Warner Bros. film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and a remake of the 1931 film of the same name...
. He played the role of the Heavenly Examiner in both the original Broadway production and the 1930 screen versions of Sutton Vane
Sutton Vane
Sutton Vane was a British playwright best known work for Outward Bound , which was filmed twice and was still being performed eight decades after its premiere.- Career as actor :...
's play, Outward Bound
Outward Bound (film)
Outward Bound is a film based on the hit 1923 play of the same name by Sutton Vane. The film stars Leslie Howard, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Helen Chandler, Beryl Mercer, Montagu Love, Alison Skipworth, Alec B...
. He also worked as a director on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
.
Selected filmography
- The Maltese FalconThe Maltese Falcon (1931 film)The Maltese Falcon is a 1931 American Warner Bros. Pre-Code crime film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The movie was directed by Roy Del Ruth and stars Bebe Daniels in the role of Ruth Wonderly and Ricardo Cortez as private detective Sam Spade.Maude Fulton, Brown Holmes,...
(1931) - DevotionDevotion (1931 film)Devotion is a romantic drama film starring Ann Harding and Leslie Howard based on the Pamela Wynne novel A Little Flat in the Temple. Its plot involves a woman who disguises herself and gains employment in the home of the man she loves.-Cast:...
(1931) - Tess of the Storm CountryTess of the Storm Country (1932 film)Tess of the Storm Country is an English-language remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name. The movie is an energetic film with Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell, and Dudley Digges. Gaynor and Farrell made almost a dozen films together, including Frank Borzage's classics Seventh Heaven ,...
(1932) - What Every Woman KnowsWhat Every Woman Knows (film)What Every Woman Knows is a American comedy film directed by Gregory La Cava and starring Helen Hayes, Brian Aherne, and Madge Evans. The film was produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and is based on the play What Every Woman Knows by J. M. Barrie. It was filmed by Paramount back in...
(1934) - The Emperor JonesThe Emperor Jones (1933 film)The Emperor Jones is a 1933 film adaptation of the Eugene O'Neill play of the same title, directed by Dudley Murphy, featuring Paul Robeson, Dudley Digges, Frank H. Wilson, and Fredi Washington. The screenplay was written by DuBose Heyward and filmed at Kaufman Astoria Studios with the beach scene...
(1933) - The Invisible ManThe Invisible Man (1933 film)The Invisible Man is a 1933 science fiction film based on H. G. Wells' science fiction novel The Invisible Man, published in 1897, as adapted by R. C. Sherriff, Philip Wylie and Preston Sturges, whose work was considered unsatisfactory and who was taken off the project...
(1933) - Mutiny on the BountyMutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1935 film starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, and directed by Frank Lloyd based on the Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall novel Mutiny on the Bounty.The film was one of the biggest hits of its time...
(1935) - Valiant is the word for CarrieValiant Is the Word for CarrieValiant is the word for Carrie is a 1936 film starring Gladys George, Arline Judge, John Howard, Dudley Digges, Harry Carey, Isabel Jewell, and Hattie McDaniel. The movie was adapted by Claude Binyon from the novel of the same name by Barry Benefield...
(1936) - The Light that Failed (1939)
- RafflesRaffles (1939 film)Raffles is a 1939 film starring David Niven and Olivia de Havilland. It is one of several film adaptations of an 1899 novel by E. W. Hornung, Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman. Sidney Howard wrote the screenplay for the 1930 version, died in 1939, and was given credit as co-author of the screenplay...
(1939)